Jill DiLoreto was born Jill Mondalene Krause on December 20, 1924 in Lafayette, Indiana. She grew up in Indianapolis during the Great Depression. There, she achieved her life long goal on becoming a registered nurse. In the early 1950's, she moved to Long Beach, California and worked as a charge nurse at Long Beach Veterans Hospital. One, fateful blind date lead to her marriage to Edward DiLoreto, who used Jill's life savings of $1,000 to start Yale Engineering, a successful Downey business spanning several decades. They raised 4 children and lived in Downey for over 50 years. Besides being a registered nurse, Jill was a Downey realtor and was a member of the Downey Community Hospital Women's Auxillary.Together with her husband, the DiLoretos accomplished many philanthropic goals including gifting and supporting a law school at Pepperdine University in Malibu, constructing the DiLoreto Dining Commons there, as well as a residence hall for Pepperdine students in Florence, Italy, creating the DiLoreto Scholarships for deserving seniors at Warren and Downey High Schools, raising funds for the construction of Villa Scalabrini Italian Retirement Center in Sunland, as well as countless other projects in Los Angeles County and in Downey where they lived. Jill died at home on April 12, 2012 at the age of 87. Jill DiLoreto was pre-deceased by her parents William and Josephine Krause, her siblings Anna Belle Kladden, Lloyd Krause and Jack Krause, her step-daughter Michelina Rainey, and her husband, Edward DiLoreto. She is survived by her step-son Joseph DiLoreto, her son Eric DiLoreto and wife Jill, and her daughters Elizabeth Mendiaz, Catherine Jaffe and husband Roger, and Susan Neff and husband Ted, as well as 17 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. A memorial mass will be Friday, April 20th at 2:00 pm at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

********** Published: April 19, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 01